Men - The History and Civilization of the Great Black SwampIt's not altogether surprising that The History and Civilization of the Great Black Swamp's Men features a cover (track 4) of a Muppets tune: Men is a delightfully ramshackle and boisterous affair that sounds quite as though it could have been recorded with cardboard instruments by manic, floppy-armed, storytelling puppets. In other words: pure ludic genius.Downloads: 513

Yes - Blasting Trout OverbiteAdjectives won't do. Yes is a chaotic, silly, slipshod, caterwauling, kooky, devious, frenetic, pulsating, fun album. Start with "My Invisible Head Brain" and see if you can stay seated -- or keep your mouth shut. The still-trepidatious will move on to "Ambrosian Wine" and, I predict, be utterly won over by the seemingly random hard-core blurtings of "Flying buttress! Flying buttress!" If Blasting Trout Overbite don't make you smile, you don't know how to smile.Downloads: 887

The Harvey Girls - The Harvey Girls [ia008] - The Harvey GirlsOn their debut imaginary album, The Harvey Girls weave sweetly delicate melodies into hauntingly evocative soundscapes, creating a seamless fusion of pop and sonic experimentation that is both as lovely and foreboding -- in a word, sublime -- as the sight of a watery, lemon-tea sun being swallowed by an ominous black thundercloud. Or, as a friend of mine and instant admirer of theirs put it: "Sounds like they probably shouldn't need anyone's help finding a real label...Keywords:Alternative; Pop; Electropop; Indierock; Indie-Pop; Noise PopDownloads: 44,090 (2 reviews)

C.J. Pizarro - Tits of America [ia005] - C.J. PizarroIn the Half Japanese documentary, The Band That Would Be King, Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller lamented the fact that no music had been able to surprise him since he'd first heard Elvis as a child (though Half Japanese, he conceded, came close). He obviously hadn't heard Tits of America. With more surprise!s than the most popular girl's surprise birthday party, this 21-minute epic careens through styles, genres, melodies, and sonic experimentation like a hunted animal scurrying through the unde...Keywords:Alternative; Avantgarde; Electronic; Folk/Rock; Indie; Pop; Beyond ClassificationDownloads: 3,357 (1 review)

Corpus Callosum - Uniquity [IA004] - Corpus CallosumUniquity might be the soundtrack to a horror film about a man, bristling with EEG electrode pads, setting out into the murky underworld of his own unconscious to murder his multiple personalities. Or it could be the musicking of a child, fallen down into a well, playing contentedly with her Radio Shack toys while the adults overhead fret and scurry about purposefully. Or possibly it's the sonic wallpaper of the doorless oubliette into which Danaë was thrust; but the fickle Zeus makes the occasi...Keywords:Avantgarde; Electronic; Indie-tronica; Abstract; Eclectic; Dark Ambient; ArtronicaDownloads: 7,608

Santa Inferno - Wonderland of Smut [IA003] - Santa InfernoWhat's astounding about Santa Inferno's debut is that not only is every song unique, each one is a pop masterpiece. This is a band that refuses to take the road most traveled, but does not renounce harmony and melody for mere outlandishness. They deftly circumvent pigeonholing, marrying that tireless inventiveness to unrelentingly contagious songwriting. Here is a group possessed by the muse but not at her mercy; drunk with their own power yet never corrupted by it...Keywords:Cult; Disco; Folk/Rock; Indie; Pop; PoptronicaDownloads: 9,888 (1 review)

C.J. Pizarro - Snow Crabs [IA002] - C.J. PizarroThere are two legitimate stances that one can take in the face of a world that is cruel, stupid, and absurd: the Lachrymose and the Laughing. C.J. Pizarro's Snow Crabs is a risible, boisterous, and endlessly inventive avant hip-pop album that shamelessly adopts the latter. Pizarro's exuberance and creativity boil over into bizarre lyrics, lavishly haunting production, picaresque style-hopping, gorgeous melodicism, goofy characterization -- even the madman burbling of acapella orgasm...Keywords:Avantgarde; Hip-Hop; Rap; Trip-Hop; Experimental; Electropop; Poptronica; EclecticDownloads: 4,886

Swain - The Single [IA001] - SwainMatt Shimmer of Indieville was overheard saying that "For the most part, Swain is pretty successful with The Single! While these songs can become a bit tiresome (hey, there's twelve of them!), many electronica listeners will be able to find a lot to like in them! The only problem is the presence of numerous extraneous tracks, including the directionless closer, "Synapsis," and the rhythmically challenged "Dross"! These are completely unnecessary, given some of the album's better moments - includ...Keywords:IDM; Experimental; Electropop; Indie-tronica; Abstract; Broken BeatsDownloads: 8,524

Laura Palmer - Still Life [IA000] - Laura PalmerStill Life is an instrumental album that weaves together lugubrious melodies and otherworldly sound effects. Soft guitars parry with electronic mutterings like slumber with the alarm clock; tuneful bleats of distortion rouse the bric-a-brac beats from their reverie; wistful half-heard organs rise and fade as fragments of environmental ambience flop and trawl like the unconscious ocean lapping at the mind's shore.Keywords:Alternative; Electronic; Instrumental Pop; Electropop; Indie-tronicaDownloads: 6,622 (3 reviews)